An Old Desire
by flutiepatutie
Summary: You think your father wouldn't understand the emotions woman, such as you, had to face and the challenges without a mom came along. But once college finishes, your life commences. For Marcie, her beginning is a journey like no other. With her father walking on death's road, she is committed to fulfill his dying wish; to see her walk down the aisle.
1. Chapter 1

As a young girl, Marcie Greer has dreamed of becoming a singer. Since the first performance on stage with her father the moment of determination arose and seeped in her system. All throughout her school days Marcie dominated the tests and quizzes. She had little interest in education but decided that the only way she would be able to live her dream to go through it. She graduated at the top of her into Berklee made her dreams become reality. Her father provided support for her every single day. Not knowing her mother was tough for her but she knew it was probably for the best if she didn't know.

The day came where Marice would finally graduate and begin her life on her own. The sun was shining and everyone was in their black gowns and red scarves which made them very hot. They began to fan themselves with flyers, including Marcie, who was in the middle of the class. Amongst the crowd was her father and aunt. Although the stadium of the school was not full, the cheers and screams were loud enough to fill the empty seats. Her father was among the people.

"And now, it is my honor, and desired gratitude, to announce the graduation of our Berklee Class of 2013! Live your dreams and seek opportunities that waltz into your path."

Hundreds of feet soot in synchronization while their gowns dropped to the ground. Each student grabbed their caps, flying them across the field in the process. Shouts and cheers echoed in the distance. Students hugged one another, some even hugged complete strangers in excitement. They were thrilled. Everyone in that moment was overwhelmed, especially Marcie. The corners of her mouth curved showing off her teeth. Her eyes wandered the stadium looking for Anne. She swore she saw her sit in the back. Her glances were opened widely and she searched in every direction. Just then, a pair of two are rounded her shoulders, making Marcie quickly grab them. Just twisting her head a little bit she was able to see the beautiful face of the person she was looking for.

"It's done! We finished! Can you believe it!? It feels like a dream!"

"I know, right!? I can't believe it!"

"You and me both!" Marcie quickly turned and held her friend in her arms. The moment they were anticipating for finally came. Bounce, bounce, bounce was all the girls did. They were too excited to do anything else. Marcie let go of Anne and grinned like a happy child.

"I'm just, I'm like, I'm… I'm speechless!" she implied, hugging her friend once more.

"Of course you are! I honestly thought the last four years were going by way too slow! But the last few weeks were so tiring that time went even slower. Ugh!" Anne replied. They picked off their caps which were not covered with grass stains and footprints.

"Okay, I have to find my dad. I'll text you when we are on our way to the party. It's at 5, right?"

Anne nodded. "Yup! But it's okay if you show up fashionably late, take your time. I'll see you later!"

"Of course!" The girls parted ways. Seeking family is hard when there are hundreds of other doing the exact same thing. People came up to Marcie every once in a while to congratulate her, slowing the search.

"Mee-Mee!"

In the distance stooped a short old man with a little tummy sticking out. Clearly Marcie knew him because she ran right to him and flew her arms around. "Dad!" She shouted.

"My little Mee-Mee!" He caught her and almost fell in the process. His wrinkled face was streamed with tears as well as his daughter's. Joy filled his heart. He was not able to see her for three years and today was the first time since. He couldn't be any prouder of Marcie. This moment was one he would not truly forget.

"I'm so happy you're here dad! You made my day even better by just hugging you!"

"Oh sweetheart, I wouldn't miss this for the world. I'm so glad your aunt was able to get me out while she could. You know how busy she is," They parted and just smiled at each other. One of his arms wrapped around her shoulders and shook her. Marcie had never seen him be this happy since he was admitted into the hospital.

"Did you see me walk down the aisle and all? I thought it was stupid how we had to rehearse for it yesterday. I could've talked to you longer but the chaperones told us to go. I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner, if I did, we would've talked longer-"

"Marcie, it's fine," he coughed, "It's fine, no need for sorries. One short call won't hurt me. Besides, I get to actually see you for a couple of days. That's way better than a call, now is it?" He grinned.

"Well that's true. Speaking of staying, are you sure you're okay of being out of the hospital for this long? What if something happens while you're here?"

"You worry too much Marcie, I'll be fine. Aunt Louise will be with me the whole time." The reassurance tone in his voice wasn't convincing Marcie hard enough so she just smiled and accepted the 'defeat'. They walked along the field, trying to find the exit. Ultimately they began to follow everyone else who seemed to be trying to do the samething.


	2. Chapter 2

After the party, which was one she'll never forget, Marcie and her aunt drove her father to the airport. Him and Aunt Louise were catching a plane for 10p.m. to Indianapolis. The doctors had requested him to come home early to his open heart surgery reschedule. He was supposed to have it two weeks from that day but they have found it more safe and steady if it's done sooner.

Of course being Marcie's father he rejected. He wanted to stay with his daughter on the original plan and he knew if he went he would not see her at least until Christmas. But eventually, Marcie had convinced him, with no help from her aunt, and he sadly accepted defeat.

"You guys are crazy," The old man cautiously stepped into the van's passenger seat with Marcie, "I can wait two weeks. I don't need any surgeries right now. I feel fine!" As soon as his rump sat he let out a huge cough followed multiple others.

"Crazy? Dad, we're trying to get you better." Marcie stepped carefully over her father's lap and sat in the seat across from him. "If you don't get this, you won't get any better. I can promise you that."

"I'm sorry sweetheart but you're being ridiculous!"

Marcie looked at her father in disbelief and placed her hand on her heart as if his words were like daggers. " _Me?_ Being _ridiculous?!_ You must be outta your mind."

"Could you two quiet down, I'm on the phone with a client. This is _very_ important."

"At 10 o'clock? Louise, you work this late?" She nodded in response and kept spilling words into her phone. This would be the moment where Marcie realized her aunt was on the phone when they would be driving. Her father was right, she _was_ ridiculous.

"Hey uh, aunt Louise? Can you put the phone away when you drive? It's dark and you're more likely to get-"

"Marc, I have two kids, which both are extremely rowdy and all over the place. I drive with them all the time and when the phone rings, I can't miss a call. They understand mommy when she's on the phone. We will be fine." Louise placed her phone back on her ears and apologized to the client.

Marcie looked at her father with her jaw dropped. Laughter filled his mouth, patting her shoulder in forgiveness. "Oh dear, this is why I moved out of your grandparents' house right away. I couldn't handle your aunt's sassiness." He coughed.

"Hey I am _NOT_ sassy Keith!" Now everyone was laughing. It had only been ten minutes in the car and there were already tears being shread. Not from sadness, however, something Marcie's father does not experience often.

The airport was empty, typical for late flights departing and arriving. Check-in was a breeze and security scans made aunt Louise cranky. While scanning her luggage, they found a liquid bottle that was unsealed. They had to throw away her favorite lotion from Bath & Body Works and they could tell she wasn't too happy about it.

"You owe me 12 bucks mister!"

9:30 came along way too quickly. Marcie didn't want to say goodbye, especially to her father. The moment was bittersweet. The hug to aunt Louise was nothing compared to the one she gave to her dad. It was strong, but not too strong. Her head was leaning upon his shoulder for now she was taller than the old man. She could smell the old house, lavender flower petals as well as honeydew lighters. The muscles in her cheeks scrunched and formed a smile on her face. Both Keith and Marcie could feel each other's tears streaming. Keith let her of her and placed his palms on her shoulders.

"You're going to go far kid. You make me so proud and so honored to be your father. Your mother would be very proud of your accomplishments. Please keep in touch, I don't want to be alone when I'm back in the bed. It's uncomfortable and I swear Hannah gave me a bad quality of bed on purpose." Hannah was his personal nurse. She would keep in touch with him when he lived in his house. But now that he's in the hospital, she's able to see him more often. Keith believes Hannah is trying to get revenge because of Keith's hilarious pranks.

Marcie chuckled and hugged her dad again. She didn't want to let him go again. She doesn't want him to leave, but she knew that if her didn't he could risk his life. "I love you Marcia, keep your head up and live your life." Marcie nodded. The feet she owned began to slowly walk backwards, dragging themselves. Louise and Keith boarded the plane, leaving Boston without a wave goodbye. Marcie forced herself out of the area, shoving her hand in her Nike sweatshirt, head low.


	3. Chapter 3

A few weeks after graduation, Marcie had began to set up her life as an individual. She purchased an apartment with a reasonable pricing. Applying for a job, however, was not that easy. She interviewed for 4 different jobs but somehow managed to get one; preschool music teacher. How? No one will ever know..

"It's weird, I saw the pamphlet outside a job I was applying for and I was like 'what the heck!' And now I get to work with kids and teach them music. It can't be that hard, right?" Marcie sipped her tea.

"Not at all, I remember when you and Robby used to play around and had fun. You babysat him almost everyday after school for Denise and Will. I'm sure this won't be difficult."

Denise, Will, and Robby were neighbors of theirs. Although Robby is just a few years younger than Marice, it didn't make much of a difference in their friendship. Keith believed she could take care of kids just as well as she did with Robby.

"I guess, Robby was always a pansy anyways. It was easier to take care of him than a cat." Keith laughed, choking a little.

"Oh yes, yes he was. But now he's a major success believe it or not. He got a 4.2 GPA and graduated as one of the top students in his years of college. I give 'im props for gettin' balls. He was afraid of 'em butterflies you caught years ago and now he became a CEO at the business his grandfather used to own. Hard to believe the kid growin' up like this."

Marcie chuckled. "Yeah, but how do you know about all of this? Are you talking to Will about it? Or-"

"No sweetheart no, his parents are long gone. Both died of stroke I think 4 or 5 years back. It's hard to remember at the moment. But I _have_ talked to him for quite some while. In fact, 'im and Louise were the ones who put me in this damn prison."

" _Dad."_

"Alright, alright. Excuse me. But I guess he was right. You _all_ were. Speaking of which, give me a second." Marcie could hear him putting the phone in his lap which was probably covered with a blanket. She hung the phone between her shoulder and ear and poured herself some more tea, stirring it in the process.

"I _know_ Hannah…...It's….where?..I-I didn't…"

Marcie walked around the telephone line for a few minutes. She twisted her fingers in the swirled line of the telephone until a huge clank ripped through her ear.

"Ow! Dad? D-Dad? Did you drop the phone?" She set her mug on the granite counter and walked around again.

"Well no…..OH! I see it, it's….yeah, thank you sweetie."

"Dad?"

"What hello? Marc? Hey sweetie."

"Dropped the phone again?"

What? Oh, oh yeah, sorry. But hey I need you to listen to me-"

"D _aaaaaaad!_ What are you doing." With the way he was speaking, Marcie knew he wanted to make an agreement with Marcie. And knowing her father's way, she would only say yes if it made him happy.

"I uh, I'm not getting any better. Them doctors told me that, that the surgery did little to no good on me-"

"Dad. What are-"

"Just listen." The firmness tone in those words made her know that the conversation became more serious. Marcie sat down on a kitchen chair and looked down. "Okay, I-I'm listening.."

"They said there are other procedures I could go through to make my heart at least 50% better. But how would these make a difference in what they did before? Of course I asked how much and long it would take." There was a long pause.

"Dad."

"$15,000 Mee-Mee." Her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe it. 15k for better procedures? Ridiculous. "They said it would take 3 years for me to be recovered-"

"We can't dad, you know it-"

"Of _course_ I do. And we are already in debt, we can't suffer like this anymore Marcie." He coughed a few seconds or so and sighed. "So I talked to Louise. I also talked to Robby. Lemme tell ya that boy has changed."

"I know, we've talked about this not too long before."

"Sweetie, he's willing to give us the money for the recovery."

Marcie was over the moon. Robby was _what?_ He's willing to do that for them? Marcie regrets not being able to contact him after all these years!

"That's great! Robby still has that kind heart after so many years!" Keith only 'mhmed'. She knew something was up. "But what what's wrong? Is there something else?"

"Well, with his business regulation and all that crap, he has to be in a form of domestic relationship in order to give us the money." Marcie stood up. "So you're saying that-"

"He has to marry you."


End file.
